Michele Chang to Join Strada Education Network as Chief Strategy Officer

National Workforce Development Leader to Head Social Impact Organization’s Strategy and Innovation Team

Strada Education Network, a nonprofit social impact organization dedicated to helping people achieve their career and life goals through education or training after high school, today announced Michele Chang will become its chief strategy officer.

In this role, Chang will lead a new strategy and innovation team in supporting Strada’s efforts to improve outcomes of postsecondary education and training. She will start her new role on Nov. 14.

“As we collaborate with partners across the country to bring to life a postsecondary education and training ecosystem that provides equitable pathways to opportunity, we aspired to find a national leader for our strategic planning and innovation efforts who would bring strategic planning expertise, a highly collaborative approach, and robust experience working with employers and policymakers,” said Strada President and CEO Stephen Moret. “In Michele, we found all of those things and more. We are thrilled she will be joining our team as we work to finalize and execute our ambitious new strategic plan.”

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Chang most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. While there, she led the design, launch, and implementation of $3 billion for programs funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which included six grant programs — such as the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and the Good Jobs Challenge — to help communities across the country accelerate their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As someone who has devoted my career to helping Americans gain access to quality training and jobs, I am thrilled to join Strada Education Network because of its sole focus on improving the connection between education and employment,” Chang said. “I can not think of an organization more uniquely positioned and resourced to have an impact on the education and workforce space.”

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Before joining the Department of Commerce, Chang was the executive director for the Markle Foundation’s Rework America Business Network, where she created and led a network of 12 Fortune 500 companies that committed to adopting practices to place underrepresented workers without four-year degrees into quality jobs. She previously worked as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company, as well as in leadership roles for Hope Street Group, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Chang earned a master’s of business administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and applied sciences from UCLA.

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